Does reflection accompany refraction in Snell's law?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the behavior of waves at the interface between different media, specifically regarding Snell's Law and the Critical Angle. It is established that when the angle of incidence is less than or equal to the Critical Angle, refraction occurs, but reflection also takes place regardless of the wave type, including longitudinal waves in oil and gas exploration. The Brewster angle, which affects reflection in optics, does not apply to mechanical waves, as polarization is not relevant in this context. Therefore, reflection is always present when waves encounter an interface, irrespective of the conditions.

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  • Familiarity with longitudinal and transverse waves
  • Basic principles of wave behavior at media interfaces
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Seismic101
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If the the angle of incidence of an incident ray is less than (or equal to) the Critical Angle, the ray is refracted, but do we still get some reflection from this same incident ray?
 
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Seismic101 said:
If the the angle of incidence of an incident ray is less than (or equal to) the Critical Angle, the ray is refracted, but do we still get some reflection from this same incident ray?
Hi Seismic101. :welcome:

Reflection like you see from a train window pane at night?
 
NascentOxygen said:
Hi Seismic101. :welcome:

Reflection like you see from a train window pane at night?

I am not sure. I wasn't really speaking about light although same principles apply, I guess? Please let me explain more.

In my field (O&G Exploration) we send vibrations into the Earth, and when this energy encounters the interface between Earth layers it follows Snell's Law. My question is: when the ray hits the interface at angle less than or equal to the Critical, we get refraction, but do we get some reflected rays as well?

I like the analogy you used! Thanks for the nice welcome!
 
Seismic101 said:
when the ray hits the interface at angle less than or equal to the Critical, we get refraction, but do we get some reflected rays as well?
In optics, when a ray of light hits an interface between two different media, reflection will always take place except for when the incident angle is equal to the Brewster angle and the incoming polarization lies in the incident plane. Since, the wave you are dealing with is of longitudinal waves where polarization is not relevant, I presume reflection will always take place regardless of any condition of the system.
 
blue_leaf77 said:
Since, the wave you are dealing with is of longitudinal waves where polarization is not relevant
The vibrations (mechanical waves) we send into the Earth can be longitudinal (particle motion in the direction of wave propagation) or transverse (particle motion is perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation).

blue_leaf77 said:
except for when the incident angle is equal to the Brewster angle and the incoming polarization lies in the incident plane
Do you think this is true for any medium/ wave type? In other words, do you think there is a Brewster angle in the case of mechanical waves propagating through Earth layers?

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
 
maybe this will help ?

Seismic_Reflection_Principal.png

cheers
Dave
 

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